Museum House Project . . . as of April 2018
Council repeals Museum Tower approvals, settlement likely in OCMA lawsuit

Despite strenuous opposition, the City Council, at a November 29, 2016, special meeting, approved the land use change making possible this proposal for a 25-story, 295 foot tall, 100 unit condo tower to replace the one-story Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Center. SPON strongly supported the referendum effort mounted to demand that that controversial decision be repealed or put to a citywide public vote. In just two weeks, Line in the Sand PAC, and its supporters and friends, managed to collect nearly 14,000 signatures — despite persons and entities affiliated with the developer doing all they could to create confusion and miscues about the process. Although the technical validity of the LITS petition has been challenged in court by the developer/museum, at its February 14, 2017, meeting, the Council certified that the requisite number of signatures had be gathered, at their February 28 meeting they chose to rescind their November 29 approval rather than hold an expensive public election, and at their March 14 meeting they completed the repeal.

LITS was initially unsuccessful with a so-called “anti-SLAPP” motion seeking to promptly dismiss OCMA’s legal challenge to the petition, but appealed that ruling. With the appeal pending, OCMA found a potential new buyer for its property (proposing to build a more modest assisted living facility there) and a tentative settlement of OCMA’s lawsuit has been announced . . .more here.

Mariners’ Mile Revitalization Master Plan . . . as of July 2017
Last Community Workshop held, Draft Plan shelved for now

Mariners Mile has been identified by City staff as an area needing “revitalization.” With completion of a study evaluating roadway capacity requirements for West Coast Highway, the City is evaluating existing land use policies and regulations. Three public workshops regarding future plans for the area have been held, following which an outside consultant prepared a “Master Plan” for the area’s “revitalization.” The draft Plan was reviewed by the Planning Commission at a study session, and was awaiting a formal recommendation by them. However, on July 18, 2017, in response to public criticism, City staff announced that the Plan was being “withdrawn.” It may be reconsidered as part of the wider General Plan Update process, or after the latter is completed. Meanwhile plans have been submitted for a large private development proposed to be called Newport Village . . . more here.

Banning Ranch is the last and the largest parcel of privately owned coastal open space remaining in Orange County. Its 400 acres are located at the mouth of the Santa Ana River, nestled between Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa. On September 7, 2016, at the conclusion of a long and contentious hearing held here in Newport Beach, the California Coastal Commission voted 9 to 1 to deny the application for development of the site. Subsequent to that, on March 30, 2017, the California Supreme Court concluded longstanding litigation with the issuance of a unanimous ruling that the City’s earlier environmental review had been inadequate and misleading, effectively invalidating the City’s approvals of an even larger project in 2012. . . . more here.

Certification of this last piece of the City’s Local Coastal Program gives the City the authority to decide if development projects in the Coastal Zone comply with the statewide Coastal Act, or not, and hence, as of January 30, 2017, to issue many permits previously requiring approval by the Coastal Commission. At its September 8, 2016, meeting here in Newport Beach, the 12 member California Coastal Commission approved a 500+ page set of guidelines worked out between City and Coastal Commission staff. On November 22, 2016, the City Council adopted the ordinance adding that compromise plan to the City’s Municipal Code. The Coastal Commission accepted the City’s approval at its December 7th meeting in Ventura … more here.

The 150 Newport Center Planned Community Development Plan (PCDP) proposal was a plan for a multi-story condo project, with at least 45 units, replacing the one-story Fashion Island Beacon Bay Car Wash. The Planning Commission held a three-part hearing on July 21, August 18 and September 1 resulting in a recommendation of denial. Proponents withdrew their application moments before the City Council was scheduled to consider the Commission’s recommendation . . . more here.

The Residences at Newport Place (Airport Area) (updated July 26, 2016)
Project denied. Applicant sent back to drawing board.

The Residences at Newport Place is a proposal to replace a small shopping center, off MacArthur near the airport and home to Arnie’s Deli, Il Barone and others, with 384 residential units. SPON submitted comments to the Planning Commission on three separate occasions before their June 9 meeting. At that meeting, the Planning Commission denied the proposal by a 4-1 vote. That decision has now been appealed to the City Council. . . . more here.

Water Supply for Newport Banning Ranch Development (Updated August 2015)
The Newport Banning Ranch project’s application was recently certified, raising questions about omissions in the application, some of which directly affect water supply . . . Where is the water coming from? Read more . . .

Petition to Halt Habitat Destruction at Banning Ranch (Updated August 2015):The California Coastal Commission Enforcement Staff has cited the owners of Banning Ranch—Newport Banning Ranch LLC and West Newport Oil Company, the oil field operator—with two major violations of the Coastal Act. The violations are unpermitted habitat destruction and unpermitted oil field operations. The Banning Ranch Conservancy has initiated a petition asking the California Coastal Commission to permanently halt this habitat destruction and to ensure permanent restoration Read more . . .

Back Bay Landing & Balboa Marina Projects (Updated August 2015): A mixed-use waterfront development project on seven acres at 300 East Coast Highway (PCH and Bayside Dr.) which changes the current parking lot and recreational vehicle storage area to more than 82,742 square feet of office, restaurant and dry-stack boat storage, plus additional residential, parking and view tower structures. And just one block away, Balboa Marina is slated for a major development project of over 19,000 square feet. With higher density plans for Mariner’s Mile, traffic grid-lock is still in our future, despite the overwhelmingly opposition and defeat of Ballot Measure Y. Read more . . .

Affordable Housing in Newport Beach (June 2015)The Newport Beach Housing Element is a state-mandated element of the City’s General Plan. The Housing Element evaluates the City’s population, income and housing data and sets forth goals, policies and actions to facilitate future development and preservation of housing for all economic segments within the community. Read more . . .

Sale of St. James the Great Episcopal Church to Legacy Partners Residential (June 2015)St. James the Great Episcopal Church in Lido Village has been purchased and developers plan to build 22 high-end townhomes in place of the popular house of worship. Read more . . .

General Plan Projects Update (5/2015): The May 21 Planning Commissionwill review a staff report/recommendation to correct a General Plan Land Use “error” which will add 300,000 square feet of hotel entitlement space to Newport Coast. Read more . . .

Poseidon Desalination Project (4/2014): Environmentally conscious water solutions make our community sustainable. On May 14 for the Orange County Water District will conduct a meeting on the Poseidon Desalination Plant. Read more . . .

General Plan Projects Update (2/2015): During the City Council Annual Planning Session on January 31, an overview of on-the-books and new projects was presented. It seems that the projects outlined in Measure Y were just the tip of the iceberg and the City continues to persist in “piecemeal” planning. Read more . . .

Corona del Mar High School Stadium Project (2/2015): The Newport Mesa Unified School District (NMUSD) has funding for $7.4 million of capital improvements earmarked for an artificial [turf ???] field at the current football/track location, new track surface and increased seating for the current 600 to 1,000 total seating capacity. Private funding (estimated at an additional $6.7 million) would cover additional field lighting, 375 additional seats, a public address system, snack bar, restrooms, press box with elevator and possibly a team room. Read more . . .